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nThe Germanic Navy rallied at the nearby world of Marcomanni, where what remained of their fleets underwent repairs and rearmament before they began their journey to the Suebi system to engage in a heroic last stand against the Naraku Hive Fleet Terminus.

nHowever, after seeing the Great Oni Empire’s decision to send their own military in support of their allies. The order came from the Grand Admiral to stall for time, and because of this, the world of Suebi was left to defend itself from a second wave of attacks.

nSuebi was a fortress world, like every other habited planet in the Germanic Star-Empire, and because of this it had vast amounts of military resources within orbit. And though the Naraku had not yet sent their second wave of attack, this did not mean that the inhabitants were standing idly by.

nNo, they were repairing the damage that had previously been dealt to their defenses, while ensuring that the newest wave of combatants were armed, and supplied with the weapons and munitions they needed to continue the fight.

nCuriously enough, a man that Erich previously went to the Naval Academy with was standing on the world’s surface, within a bunker complex, as he loaded a fresh plasma cell into his rifle. This man had previously been knocked out by Erich during his first day at the Naval academy, which was something that had taught him the discipline he needed to survive so far.

nBy now this man was a veteran of several conflicts, most notably against the Dvrakian Consortium, but now he could proudly say that he was among the brave few Star Marines who led the defense of Suebi against the Terminus and its devouring swarm. Captain Walter Kuhne sat in his trench while smoking a cigarette. His weapon was properly maintained and ready for war, and now all he had to do was endure the calm before the storm.

nIt had been over a week since the world of Suebi had repelled the Naraku Swarm, and in doing so, had made a name for themselves as some of the hardest sons of bitches in the galaxy. And no doubt, during this time, the Naraku were making their every preparation to launch their next attack.

nFor what most considered being nothing more than a bunch of mindless bugs, they appeared to have a basic understanding of military tactics. Thus, Walter continued to smoke his cigarette, knowing that it might very well be his last.

nNearby was a teenage boy, no older than fifteen. Although in the eyes of a veteran like Walter, he was a boy no longer. After being given nothing more than a flak jacket and a plasma rifle, this boy was told to fight to the bitter end, against an alien invasion, and he had managed to survive the initial onslaught. Something which even those brave few who called themselves Star Marines could not claim.

nThis teenage boy was currently holding the grips of a heavy plasma cannon with a stoic expression on his face. Walter had seen this look before. It was the thousand-yard stare, the look of a man who had seen the worst the galaxy had to offer. An expression he saw every time he looked into the mirror.

nThis boy, like many of the other members of his “unit” was part of the “People’s Storm”, the militia that had been formed entirely from civilians of all ages, to defend the Empire’s worlds against the current threat to its survival.

nUpon seeing that this boy was taking his job so seriously, the veteran star marine, whose power armor was marred with battle damage, chuckled lightly before tossing his pack of cigarettes over to the kid.

n“If you’re going to be watching over our asses, you might as well have a smoke to calm your nerves…”

nThe kid did not say a word, instead he nodded his head in thanks before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. Where he then took a long and heavy drag. It was not until five minutes later, when he finally spoke, and when he did so, his words put everyone who could hear them on high alert.

n“They are coming…”

nImmediately, Walter looked to the sky, and confirmed the bugs had taken flight. He immediately spoke on his comms to alert the high command that the second wave had arrived, but they were already one step ahead of him.

nAlarms began to blare across the entire planet, and the static defenses which had been made to counter the bugs, and their descent, began to shoot off. And in doing so, Walter witnessed as several million insectoids descended from the sky, as if they were a giant storm cloud, and towards the surface of the planet.

nWalter immediately place his helmet over his head, and grabbed his plasma rifle, where he proceeded to rack the charging handle, and in doing so send the weapon in to battery, he then pointed the muzzle out of the fortified defenses, and gave those battle hardened militia members by his side some words to live by.

n“Keep your heads down, and your weapons hot! And for the love of god, do not waste your ammo! Aim small, miss small!”𝒩𝑜𝚟𝑳𝒩xt.𝐜𝑜𝑚

nAfter saying this, Walter aimed his plasma rifle, and its electronic optic down range, where he acquired a sight picture on the head of a bug that had just touched down approximately six hundred meters in front of him, where he then pulled the trigger, and in doing so, sent a bolt of white hot plasma toward’s the enemy’s head.

nThe plasma scorched the bug’s head, but did not kill it immediately. Much like the legends had said, the Naraku were capable of evolving each brood to meet the threats they encountered, and because of this, the plasma weapons which the Germanic Star-Empire made widespread use of, suddenly became far less effective than the last time they had fought the bugs.

nThis immediately caused Walter to curse out loud as he fired a small burst of shots at the bug’s head once more. Two of the bolts missed the target entirely, while the other three landed on the torso, which appeared even more well defended against the Germanic weapons.

n“God damn **ing bugs!’

nIt was at this moment that the teenage kid fired a burst of his heavy plasma cannon, whose bolts of plasma were significantly larger and hotter, and only after peppering the soldier bug with three shots did its torso melt away.

nAll around the trench system, and bunker complexes, the Germanic citizens fired their weapons at the enemy, many of them having to resort to the far more powerful antimatter rocket launcher to score a one hit kill against the bugs which were so much more well defended than the previous brood.

nEvidently the hive queen had gone all out in terms of defense, and had wasted god knows how many resources to achieve such a thing, because the Germanic warriors quickly realized how much of a decrease in efficiency their weapons now had against the enemy.

nWalter continued to fire his plasma rifle towards the oncoming bugs with everything he had, ejecting the spent cells and replacing them as quickly as his body could manage. Where he fired even more shots at the enemies.

nHowever, no matter how many plasma bolts he fired at the enemy, they just kept coming, in an ever ending wave, until eventually a swarm tyrant arrived right in front of the bunker complex. Evidently this monster of an insectoid was aiming for the boy with the heavy plasma cannon, because he swept his pincers at the location where he stood.

nNoticing this in advance, Walter tossed the boy aside, and in doing so spared his life, but not without taking the brunt of the damage himself. The enemy’s pincers shredded through Walter’s already damaged power armor with relative ease, and had ripped through his guts.

nWith his intestines hanging out, it was a miracle that the man had survived. However, he refused to die without taking this swarm tyrant with him, and thus, he mustered all the strength that his genetically enhanced body had left within it, and charged towards the massive swarm tyrant with an antimatter grenade in hand.

nBut this was not just one antimatter grenade, but six of them taped together. Walter then jumped straight into the insectoid’s mouth and pulled the pin, just as he screamed out his last words.

n“For the Empire!”

nIn the next moment, the bug exploded from within, and Walter along with him. Leaving the boy who teenage boy who had just narrowly escaped death in a state of bewilderment. But this did not last long before his position was overrun by a swarm of bugs, and thus, even though Walter had sacrificed himself to spare this boy’s life, it was in vain.

nBecause in the very next moment, the boy got on the comms and contacted the nearest artillery battery, where he called in an immediate fire mission on his exact location, and in doing so, condemning himself, and everyone else in his trench to death.

n“Broken Arrow, on my coordinates!”

nAs the artillery roared through the air, and bombarded the forward trench line, the men, women, and children who still fought in them, all rushed toward the bugs with their chainsaw bayonets, and their antimatter grenades, in one last attempt to personally claim glory before their lives were lost by their own artillery.

nWith this, the second wave of the Naraku invasion of Suebi had begun, and with a particularly bloody start for both sides.

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